Premier Vineyard Tours

One of our recent highlights was a visit to , located just outside of the charming village of Novello. Elvio Cogno produces Barolos from the prestigious Ravera Cru. Even on a cloudy day, the surrounding hills of vineyards are stunning. What a wonderful tasting and visit! In addition to their outstanding 2020 Barolo Cascina Nuova and 2020 Barolo Ravera, we were were fortunate to try their 2022 Pre-Phylloxera Barbera d’Alba (wow!) and a 2023 Anas-Cëtta (Nascetta).
Grazie to our gracious guide Sara, and to Valter Fissore and Nadia Cogno for their warm hospitality.

Barbaresco time! Surrounded by Nebbiolo vines as Enrico Nada winemaker at explains the geo viticulture of the Macarini and Casot Crus. Apologies for the lack of wine photos, but I was living in the moment 😊🍷: Our yummy tasting included:
Langhe Riesling DOC, Langhe Bianco DOC “Armonia”, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Barbaresco Casot DOCG and Barbaresco Macarini DOCG. Grazie Enrico!

For the sparkling wine enthusiast, a visit to the historic cellars of Contratto winery in Canelli is a must! . Their Metodo Classico wines are all hand riddled and aged from 30 months on the lees for the Millesimato, and up to 100 months for their Cuvée Novecento Pas Dosé. Grazie to our knowledgeable guide Giovanni for an incredible look into their amazing world of fine bubbles.

Over the weekend we made a quick trip to Tuscany. One of our stops was to the charming family winery and farm in the Chianti Colli Senesi wine area. The Conforti family have been living and working in this hamlet for 7 generations! In addition to wine, their organic farm produces olive oil, fruits & vegetables as well as their own flour for their homemade pasta.

Our tour and tasting was hosted by Vittorio Conforti, who oversees the winemaking and winery visits. We also met his lovely mother Fiorella (pictured with Vittorio) who prepared a delicious salami & cheese board for our tasting. Vittorio’s father Giorgio and brothers Carlo & Guido also work on the farm.

A surprising part of the tour was visiting their beautiful old cellar that dates back to 1756. Their operation is small (only 20k bottles) but what an incredible contribution to their community (and beyond) with all of their quality products. We look forward to visiting again in the future and hopefully can try their new restaurant that’s opening soon. Grazie Vittorio and Fiorella for your warm hospitality!

Tasting at Montemorli Famiglia Conforti:
2022 Chardonnay di Toscana IGT
2023 “Maria Giulia” Rosato IGT 100% Sangiovese
2020 Chianti Riserva DOCG 100% Sangiovese
2020 “Cornacchino” Rosso di Toscana IGT 90% Cab. Sauv., 10% Canaiolo
2021 “Angelico” Rosso di Toscana, 40% Sangiovese, 40% Merlot, 20% Cab. Sauv.
2011 Vin Santo Del Chianti DOC 70% Trebbiano,
30% Malvasia

A fun day trip to Parma for a Parmigiano Reggiano tour and tasting . Caseificio Ugolotti is located just outside of Parma and has been a family-run Parmigiano Reggiano producer since 1930. It was fascinating to see how the “King of Cheeses” is made: from the cooking, to the curing process and finally the aging of the cheese. The best part of course was the tasting at the end! 😊

What a fun evening with blind tasting 20 of the 2021 Barbarescos, organized by . We have so much to look forward to from this vintage! To complement the tasting was a wonderful menu prepared by Osteria taStè in Tre Stelle.